U.S. Military Cargo Removal From Afghanistan To Cost $5B to $6B

KABUL — The U.S. operation to remove military hardware and vehicles from Afghanistan as troops withdraw after 12 years of war will cost between $5 billion and $6 billion, officials said Sunday. Among statistics released by the military about the process known as a “retrograde” was that 25,000 vehicles have been shipped out of Afghanistan in the last year and another 25,000 remain in the country. About 100,000 containers are also still in Afghanistan, and will be used to remove mountains of equipment ranging from fighting gear to fitness machines, furniture and computers. “The retrograde from Afghanistan is one of the most challenging military transportation operations in history in terms of scale and complexity,” Brig. Gen. Steven Shapiro said in an email. “Our number of vehicles in Afghanistan has dropped by nearly half in the past year.” Shapiro, the commanding general o...